Newswire

Senate Joins House in Passing the Local Community Radio Act:

Thousands of community groups rejoice at new opportunity for locally owned media

WASHINGTON, DC – Today a bill to expand community radio nationwide – the Local Community Radio Act – passed the U.S. Senate, thanks to the bipartisan leadership of Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John McCain (R-AZ). This follows Friday afternoon’s passage of the bill in the House of Representatives, led by Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Lee Terry (R-NE). The bill now awaits the President's signature.

These Congressional champions for community radio joined with the thousands of grassroots advocates and dozens of public interest groups who have fought for ten years to secure this victory for local media. In response to overwhelming grassroots pressure, Congress has given the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a mandate to license thousands, of new community stations nationwide. This bill marks the first major legislative success for the growing movement for a more democratic media system in the U.S.

“A town without a community radio station is like a town without a library,” said Pete Tridish of the Prometheus Radio Project, the group which has led the fight to expand community radio for ten years. “Many a small town dreamer – starting with a few friends and bake sale cash – has successfully launched a low power station, and built these tiny channels into vibrant town institutions that spotlight school board elections, breathe life into the local music scene, allow people to communicate in their native languages, and give youth an outlet to speak.”

The Local Community Radio Act will expand the low power FM (LPFM) service created by the FCC in 2000 – a service the FCC created to address the shrinking diversity of voices on the radio dial. Over 800 LPFM stations, all locally owned and non-commercial, are already on the air. The stations are run by non-profit organizations, local governments, churches, schools, and emergency responders.

The bill repeals earlier legislation which had been backed by big broadcasters, including the National Association of Broadcasters. This legislation, the Radio Broadcast Preservation Act of 2000, limited LPFM radio to primarily rural areas. The broadcast lobby groups claimed that the new 100 watt stations could somehow create interference with their own stations, a claim disproven by a Congressionally-mandated study in 2003.

Congressional leaders worked for years to pass this legislation. As the clock wound down on the 111th Congress, they worked with the NAB to amend the bill to enshrine even stronger protections against interference and to ensure the prioritization of full power FM radio stations over low power stations.

Though the amendments to the bill will require some further work at the FCC, low power advocates celebrated the first chance in a decade for groups in cities, towns, and other communities to take their voices to the FM dial.

“After ten years of effort, a $2.2 million taxpayer-funded study, and new provisions to address this hypothetical interference, we are finally on our way to seeing new community radio stations across the U.S. This marks a beginning, not an end, to our work,” saidBrandy Doyle, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. “For the first time, LPFM community radio has a chance to grow, and we’re ready to seize that opportunity.”

“All of us at UCC OC Inc. and at Prometheus express our incredible gratitude to Congressmen Mike Doyle and Lee Terry and Senators Maria Cantwell and John McCain for the leadership and counsel during this process,” said Cheryl Leanza, a board member of the Prometheus Radio Project and a Policy Advisor to the United Church of Christ, Office of Communication, Inc. “Without their work and the work of their committed staff we would not have come this far. At long last the 160 million Americans who have been deprived of the opportunity to apply for a local low power radio station will get a chance to be a part of the American media.”

"I am a leadership organizer from the ranks of the poor working with other low-wage workers – fighting for human rights in Maryland,” said Veronica Dorsey of the United Workers, a human rights organization in Baltimore. “Low power FM radio would allow the United Workers to expand the message of our End Poverty Radio show, which is currently only available on the internet. End Poverty Radio develops leaders and gives workers a way to tell their stories and be heard – and a low power FM station would reach a lot of people who do not have access to the internet. LPFM is a way for those in the community who are struggling to survive to hear stories that they can relate to, and to know that they are not alone in this struggle for human dignity. We can’t wait to work to build low power FM in communities like ours, so we can accomplish these goals."

“Civil rights groups and community organizations have wanted low power FM radio for years, and now the chance is here,” saidBetty Yu, coordinator of the Media Action Grassroots Network, a national media justice network with members in many cities and communities that lost their chance to get low power FM radio stations. “From Seattle, Oakland, and Albuquerque to Minneapolis, San Antonio, Kentucky and Philadelphia, thousands of communities know that having access to our own slice of the dial means a tool to build our movements for justice. We have won something huge in Congress, but the fight is not over. Now we need to work at the FCC to make sure as many licenses as possible can be available in rural communities, towns and suburbs, and America's cities.”

LPFMs have saved lives in powerful storms when big broadcasts lose power or can’t serve local communities in the eye of the storm.WQRZ-LP in Bay St. Louis, MS received awards from President Bush and other organizations post Katrina in 2005, when one of the station operators swam across flood waters with fuel strapped to his back to keep his station on the air. The station proved so important that the Emergency Operations Center of Hancock County set up shop with the LPFM to serve the community after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Bipartisan Senators and House members have expressed support for the Local Community Radio Act as a vital way to expand emergency service media across our nation.

“I’m Frank Bluestein from Germantown, Tennessee, one of the several large suburban cities located just outside of Memphis. We have been fighting for the past 10 years to persuade Congress to give communities like ours the opportunity to establish a low power FM radio station. Our city wants to provide community and civic groups, students of all ages, local artists and others the power to communicate over their own LPFM channel,” said Frank Bluestein, a media teacher and Executive Producer of Germantown Community Television.

"Equally important for Germantown, we need a dedicated communication outlet that will serve the needs of our citizens in the event another tornado rips through town or if any kind of natural disaster hits,” continued Bluestein. “In this day and age, emergency management is a must for a city of our size and LPFM perfectly fits our needs. A low power FM radio station can stay on the air even if the power goes out. Low power FM saved lives during Katrina but strangely, the federal government is banning it from this part of Tennessee. That is not fair or wise. We have the right to be as safe as any other community in the US. After 10 years, now is the time! Congress has passed the Local Community Radio Act, and chances are so much greater that groups in towns like mine can apply for LPFM licenses. Germantown is ready to work here and at the FCC to make licenses for communities like ours possible.”

Grassroots leaders were key in helping Senators understand that expanding low power FM was important and urgent. “Our station provides some of the only local service to Gillette when big storms come through, and it puts great content on the air. That's why so many in our town think it is such a vital resource,” said Pastor Joel Wright of the First Presbyterian Church of Gillette, WY, licensee of KCOV-LP 95.7 FM . “Senators Barrasso and Enzi had concerns about expanding low power FM, but they heard from many Wyoming folks who want these stations, and dropped those concerns. Communities of faith and so many others can celebrate that we've jumped this big hurdle to more license being available in cities, smaller towns, and rural communities nationwide. I look forward to working with many other pastors and groups to launch their own wonderful new community voices.”

"The Media Mobilizing Project works with a huge diversity of leaders across Philadelphia -- from taxi drivers and immigrant communities to students and low wage workers," said Desi Burnette of Philadelphia's Media Mobilizing Project. "Our leaders have been lucky enough to produce multiple programs with WPEB-FM, 88.1 – bringing all of these communities together. But WPEB is a 1-watt station, only covering a few city blocks. Now with the passage of the Local Community Radio Act, Philadelphia has a much greater chance of getting at least one 100-watt station of its own. With low power FM in our community, poor and working people across this region would have an incredible tool to learn together, to understand their shared struggles and conditions, and to work to change them."

"Our low power FM radio station has allowed Guatemalan, Haitian, and many other hard-working immigrant farmworkers to communicate in their native languages, and to build the power for dignity and respect in the fields of Southwest Florida," said the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Gerardo Reyes Chavez. "Our radio station, WCIW – Radio Consciencia – has developed womens' leadership, has allowed us to mobilize rapidly in crises, and has helped us transform not just our community but the hundreds of communities inspired by our struggle. We look forward to helping many other farmworkers learn how to build their own stations and how to expand justice on the FM dial."

"In the rural areas we serve and all across the country, low power FMs are poised to celebrate and preserve unique local culture," said Nick Szuberla of Appalshop, a group that uses media to preserve Appalachian culture and tradition while working to improve quality of life. "More low power FMs mean that the vibrant, beautiful, and vital voices of America's rural areas and small towns will shine – and it will mean sustainable local resources in times of crisis. Low power FM stations can stay on the air in storms and save thousands of lives. Congress and community radio advocates should be proud of the resources they've won for American communities."

“Our group of 150 volunteers here at the Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP) is extremely pleased that the Local Community Radio Act has been passed by Congress, and will be signed into law by our fellow Chicagoan, President Obama,” said Shawn Campbell, a founder of CHIRP. “For three years, CHIRP volunteers and supporters have worked diligently toward the goal of being able to apply for a low power FM broadcast license, and we look forward to working with our national allies and the FCC to make sure new stations are licensed in large markets around the country, including Chicago.”

"For decades, the Esperanza Center has worked in San Antonio and beyond to bring people together across cultures, and to ensure the civil rights and economic justice of everyone," said Graciela Sanchez of the Esperanza Center for Peace and Justice in San Antonio. "Whether we are fighting for the right to publically protest or to save the water systems of our region, we need to communicate and coordinate to effectively organize. Low power FM in San Antonio can unite people across cultures and issues to work together to make this city better for everyone. We celebrate this victory for everyone and pledge to work with allies to win as many stations as possible for communities nationwide."

Over 10 years, hundreds of groups of all walks of life struggled to bring community radio stations to every community possible, and they cannot all be listed here. We would like to thank the coalition who worked weekly to move this mountain including: Free Press, United Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Media Access Project, the Future of Music Coalition, the Media and Democracy Coalition, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the Benton Foundation, the Prometheus National Advisory Committee and Board of Directors.

We thank those who were instrumental in this final push including: Reclaim the Media, The Media Action Grassroots Network, New America Foundation, Chicago Independent Radio Project, MoveOn.org, Color of Change, the Christian Coalition, and the National Association of Evangelicals, and Spitfire Consulting. Our partners in supporting community media including the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and the Grassroots Radio Coalition, and Media Alliance, Pacifica, REC Networks, the Alliance for Community Media.

We thank those who have helped at key moments throughout these ten years including: United States Public Interest Research Group, Consumers Union, the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, the United Methodist Church Office of Communication, the Indigo Girls, OK Go, Nicole Atkins, the Microradio List, Amherst Alliance, MIcroradio Implementation Project, Pacifica Radio, Common Frequency, Christian Community Broadcasters, KYES -TV, National Lawyers Guild Committee on Democratic Communications, Virginia Center for the Public Press, every FCC Commissioner since 1999 (except for Harold Furchgott Roth).

We thank our radio barnraising partners who have time and again shown up to represent the best of what LPFM can be: WGXC-FM in Hudson, New York with Free103point9; WMXP-LP in Greenville, South Carolina with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement; KPCN-LP in Woodburn, Oregon with Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste; WRFU-LP in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois with Radio Free Urbana; WXOJ-LP in Northampton, Massachusetts with Valley Free Radio; WRFN-LP in Pasquo, Tennessee with Radio Free Nashville; WSCA-LP in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with Portsmouth Community Radio; WCIW-LP in Immokalee, Florida with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers; KYRS-LP in Spokane, Washington with Thin Air Community Radio; KOCZ-LP in Opelousas, Louisiana with the Southern Development Foundation; KRBS-LP in Oroville, California with the Bird Street Media Project; and our very first radio barnraising with WRYR-LP in Deale, Maryland with South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development.

“We've built community radio stations from coast to coast and around the country,” said Hannah Sassaman, a longtime organizer with the Prometheus Radio Project. ‘The faith and perseverance of low power FM's legislative champions and the thousands who pushed the Local Community Radio Act has paid off in incredible ways. After ten years of struggle, it's stunning to know that in the next years, the FCC will work to and begin licensing LPFMs in city neighborhoods, in suburbs and towns, and in rural areas. It's humbling to understand that new young people will gain a love of telling stories at the working end of a microphone or at home listening to their neighbors. And it's powerful to know that these stations will launch leaders in every walk of life to change their communities, and this country. We look forward to launching the next generation of community stations with you.”

This week's show features stories from China Radio International, Radio Netherlands, Radio Deutsche-Welle, Radio Havana Cuba, and the Voice of Russia.

From CHINA- The Chinese Premier is visiting India to promote business, and said that the two countries are not competitors. China is appealing the WTO ruling that places tariffs on tires imported into the US. South Korea staged its largest Civil Defense drill while tensions with the North continue.

From NETHERLANDS- Analysis of the group called Anonymous, which is fighting to keep Wikileaks online, and attacking anyone interfering with Wikileaks.

From GERMANY- Riots are sweeping across Europe. In Athens demonstrations against austerity programs reached new levels of violence. After Prime Minister Berlusconi survived a vote in Parliament, demonstrators took the streets of Rome leading to much destruction and many injuries- leaders blame the violence on government provocateurs. In Turkey, police are cracking down on student protests with extreme force.

From CUBA- In response to student riots in the UK, the Metropolitan police chief wants a ban on all student protests in the country. The FBI is facing a barrage of charges of entrapment from Muslim groups in the US. US led airstrikes have increased recently in Afghanistan, with many civilian deaths.

From RUSSIA- The US Air Force has blocked access to all media discussing Wikileaks material. A nuclear waste train set off from France is expected to be blocked in Germany. A million Europeans are speaking out against the use of Genetically Modified Organisms, calling for a complete ban in the EU.

All that plus times and frequencies for listening at home. It's free to rebroadcast, please notify me if you're airing it and haven't notified me in the last month, please mention the website if you only air a portion. If you just want to listen and have a slow connection, try the streaming version- lower sound quality but good enough and way easier if you don't have a high-speed internet connection. If streaming is a problem because of your slow connection, download the smaller file- it takes 20 minutes or less, and will play swell in any mp3 player application (RealPlayer, Winamp, Quicktime, iTunes, etc) you have on your computer.

This program will be aired on Friday evening at 6:30pm (PST) on KZYX/Z Philo CA, you might be able to stream via < http://www.kzyx.org >

There are several other streams that work better- < http://www.freakradio.org >Freak Radio Santa Cruz now streams this program on Friday at 9:00am.(PDST)

I hope you'll listen and air this if you're connected with a radio station. I am still wondering how to get financially compensated for the 25 hours I put into this program weekly- any ideas are appreciated. Any stations rebroadcasting this (or listeners) are welcome to donate for production costs. You can do so through the website. Many thanks to those that have donated! No Guilt! (maybe a little)

--"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves and the grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem."

PLEASE SUPPORT THIS IMPORTANT ACTION FROM LONGTIME CMJ ALLY and leader in the fight for community radio, The Prometheus Radio Project

For 10 years, a movement of pastors and firefighters, civil rights groups and musicians have fought to put media in the hands of our communities in the form of low power FM (LPFM) radio stations

Your Senator can bring a station to your community – but only if we get the Senate to pass this legislation now before Congress ends! Read below to take action.

In an era when big media puts out pop hits instead of local news, LPFM stations represent the best of our democracy. A bipartisan majority of Senators and Congressmembers are just one step away from passing a bill that could bring them to your town – they could do it as soon as this week!

But one big media lobby, the National Association of Broadcasters, could kill our chances for our own local neighborhood stations, even though groups on the right and the left all want LPFM.The NAB has blocked the Local Community Radio Act – a bill that would expand low power FM radio to thousands of communities nationwide – by asking Senators to secretly hold it up. And time is running out to pass it this year – Congress could be over in days!

Call your Senators now or call the US Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to find your Senators and ask them to expand community radio!

You can say something like:

Hi, my name is ________, and I'm a radio listener living in YOUR TOWN, YOUR STATE. We want low power FM radio in our community so we can put local voices on the air and protect our community in times of crisis. Please work hard to ensure the Local Community Radio Act, S592 passes this year!

Feel free to leave a voicemail if you can't get through -- then email Prometheus Radio back at info@prometheusradio.org to let us know you called.

Just a few companies own our media, and diversity is long overdue. Rebuilding our economy and winning justice for our neighbor depends on real debate getting out there. If we stop the NAB from killing low power FM and get our Senators to expand it, we can build thousands of independent radio stations in our communities. And every independent voice means we're one step closer to making our society the best it can be.

The 2010 Hempstead Food Share Bonanza was the largest Food Not Bombs ever and the largest vegan Thanksgiving ever!

On that day over 30,000 pounds of food was shared with thousands of people, and Long Island Food Not Bombs followed this with nearly a dozen consecutive Thanksgiving events throughout the rest of the week, sharing a total of nearly 55,000 pounds of groceries in 5 days!

The December 7 arrest in London of Julian Assange, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Internet investigative site WikiLeaks, is a threat to freedom of the press and an attempt to silence critics who expose the bloody deeds of imperialism. We are convinced, along with many others, that Assange is innocent of the trumped up accusations of the crimes of rape and sexual molestation that are being manipulated by Swedish authorities to request his detention and extradition. It is clear that sinister forces are pushing the persecution of this courageous man, and his life could be in danger.

We have no hesitation in naming the criminal forces who are behind this frame-up: first and foremost, the United States government of Barack Obama and its military and spy agencies. They have enlisted U.S. corporations such as Amazon, MasterCard, PayPal and others, Swiss banks and the complaisant Swedish, British and Australian governments in their war on WikiLeaks. They seek to silence whistleblowers who have not only caused them diplomatic embarrassment but also lifted a corner of the veil on Washington’s Murder, Inc. If the would-be masters of the world cannot stop the leakage of information through judicial/police methods, they will surely resort to other means.

The Houston Anarchist Book Fair and Film Festival serves to bring radical and alternative literature, education, and culture to Houston, TX, with a focus on resistance and community building. This event is being developed as a vehicle for community organizing, and networking in the southern region of the United States. The book fair will feature a variety of distro’s, infoshops, used and new books, in combination with workshops, skill shares, lectures, speeches, and facilitated open discussions. Through this we hope to create a liberated space, solidarity in the anarchist community and, regional, national and international networking. This event will have a wide array of organizations coming together in building a radical community in the south.

The Houston Anarchist book fair and film festival will take place April 22-24, 2011.

We are looking for:

-Facilitators

-Speakers

-Authors

-Workshops

-Skill shares

-Infoshops/Distros

-Filmmakers/Films

-Artist

If you are a filmmaker, or know someone who is, please feel free to e-mail us as well, and we will add you into the film festival schedule.

We want your input! If you would like to present a workshop or host a skill share, table your distro, play music or if you have resources and would like to volunteer … CONTACT US at houstonanarchistbookfair@gmail.com

China has pushed for the resumption of the 6-party talks on the Korean peninsula in light of the recent artillery exchanges. The US and South Korea are increasing military exercises. Two stories about the UN climate talks in Cancun Mexico. Colombia has declared a state of emergency to cope with deadly floods.

From NETHERLANDS-

An analysis of the claims that the release of Wikileaks information is "a threat to national security" and that it "puts lives at risk."

From GERMANY-

According to a Wikileaks release The US pressured Germany into not arresting CIA agents involved in Extraordinary Rendition. A report on the effect that the new austerity measures in Ireland will have on citizens with low or middle incomes.

From CUBA-

The US has dropped its demand that Israel freeze illegal Jewish settlement building in the West Bank. Venezuela is receiving help from Iran to build new housing to replace those destroyed in recent severe flooding. The Afghan government has rescinded its demand that all mercenaries leave by the end of the year. An air strike by NATO forces has killed Afghan soldiers.

From RUSSIA-

A commentary on the visit to Afghanistan by UK Prime Minister David Cameron a few days after Barack Obama was there.

All that plus times and frequencies for listening at home. It's free to rebroadcast, please notify me if you're airing it and haven't notified me in the last month, please mention the website if you only air a portion. If you just want to listen and have a slow connection, try the streaming version- lower sound quality but good enough and way easier if you don't have a high-speed internet connection. If streaming is a problem because of your slow connection, download the smaller file- it takes 20 minutes or less, and will play swell in any mp3 player application (RealPlayer, Winamp, Quicktime, iTunes, etc) you have on your computer.
This program will be aired on Friday evening at 6:30pm (PST) on KZYX/Z Philo CA, you might be able to stream via < http://www.kzyx.org >
There are several other streams that work better- < http://www.freakradio.org >Freak Radio Santa Cruz now streams this program on Friday at 9:00am.(PDST)
The Shortwave Report may be downloaded as a podcast from < feed://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?series=outFarpress+presents > or iTunes (search for "shortwave" in podcasts)
Check out the amazing streams at < http://www.radicalradio.org >
And Radio For Peace International at < http://www.rfpi.org >

I hope you'll listen and air this if you're connected with a radio station. I am still wondering how to get financially compensated for the 25 hours I put into this program weekly- any ideas are appreciated. Any stations rebroadcasting this (or listeners) are welcome to donate for production costs. You can do so through the website. Many thanks to those that have donated! No Guilt! (maybe a little)
link for broadcast edition-
< http://www.outfarpress.com/outfarpress/swr_12_10_10.mp3 >(13.3MB)
link for smaller file and streaming-
< http://www.outfarpress.com/outfarpress/shortwave.shtml >
¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts

--"

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

On Dec. 21st, 2010, the FCC will finally vote to either turn our Internet over to big companies or protect it with the strongest network neutrality rules possible. The voice of FCC Commissioner Clyburn will make the difference. With one click, you can thank her for being an Open Internet Champion, and help her stand her ground!

If you don’t know who FCC Commissioner Clyburn is, you should. Her vote could be the difference between the democratic Internet we have now- or one with pay to play service, corporate loopholes, and no protections for wireless users.

Commissioner Clyburn already had a long history of public service and dedication to the public interest before her swearing in as an FCC Commissioner in 2009. Yet, when her nomination for FCC Commissioner was announced last year, people weren’t quite sure what to expect. Little was known about her position on the important issue of Net Neutrality. People wondered whether she would champion the issue for everyday Internet users, working people, and America’s poor, or if she she’d side with the corporations and their massive lobby.

On the issue of Net Neutrality she’s become the ‘peoples’ champion’, as well as a friend and ally to the Media Action Grassroots Network. Commissioner Clyburn has not only maintained an open door policy—meeting with us in D.C. on no less than four occasions—but has also left the Beltway to visit our communities.

Take a minute and tell FCC Commissioner Clyburn she’s our Open Internet Champion.

A Caravan consisting of more than 400 members from the State of Chiapas belonging to the National Social Justice Movement, La Otra Campaigna, was prevented from entering the sacred Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza, declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight.

La Otra Campaigna attempted to hold Mayan prayer ceremonies in the temples of their ancestors with members of several Indigenous nations from multiple countries including Canada, Guatemala and the United States Friday night.

The caravan was denied entry into the park when they arrived at 6pm on Dec. 3 due to a nightly tourist light show that was being set up.

As an expression of religious freedom Caravan members did not pay what would have been a collective entrance fee of at least $1,600 Dollars or four $USD per person to enter their religious site.

The Caravan, including several buses and more than a dozen smaller vehicles, was only permitted to enter long enough to make a U-turn and file out.

The Caravan then traveled a short distance to the town of Piste. Locals in the town had planned to hold the second night of a carnival with music, dancing and a Bull Fight in the town Zocolo when the Caravan arrived.

But the Piste carnival was delayed for an hour as the Caravan’s vehicles circled the Zocolo. Young guitarists played while banners were rapidly painted denouncing their exclusion from Chichen Itza.

Many hoisted their printed black and red flags, which read “National Liberation Movement,” an initiative spanning the country prompted by self-governing Zapatista communities.

Speakers from Indigenous Nations rallied the crowd, performed a spiritual ceremony and sang.

The Caravan continued towards Cancun to take part in a convergence of approximately 10,000 other Caravan riders. They plan to take part in more than a week of protest actions and counter-conferences surrounding the COP16.

Otra Campaigna Caravan drivers concurred that they were pulled over by the Federal Police more than a dozen times and had their luggage searched during their two-day drive to Cancun.

1,500 Federal Police now occupy the city, with many security checkpoints. Maritime activity has been suspended for approximately15 kilometers out to sea around Cancun, costing local fishermen dearly.

At the Cancun City limits Federal Police vehicles began to tightly follow the Caravan, with vehicles in front, behind and in the parallel lane.The Caravan successfully continued to a convergence center prepared for them in Cancun’s city center.

3 December 2010
The American state, its spokesmen in the mass media, and its allies around the world are engaged in an international campaign of vilification and persecution against WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange.
This campaign has nothing to do with any supposed crime he has committed, since he has committed none. He is the target of an international manhunt for his role in lifting the lid on the lies and criminal operations of imperialist powers the world over—above all, in the United States.
The same mafia-type criminality is now being deployed with full force against WikiLeaks and Private Bradley Manning, who is charged with leaking some of the documents. In the US, politicians of both parties are united in their determination to see Assange arrested. The Obama administration has branded the leakers, as well as WikiLeaks, “criminals,” with the US attorney general pledged to “close the gap” by inventing a pseudo-legal basis for prosecution if one does not exist at present.
Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and ex-military officials have demanded the death penalty for Manning, while Sarah Palin has insisted that WikiLeaks be branded a terrorist organization.
Washington’s junior partners abroad have been equally adamant in their attack. Tom Flanagan, a former adviser to the Canadian prime minister, declared that Assange should be “assassinated,” that Obama should “put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something.” And the fact that Assange is a citizen of Australia did not prevent Julia Gillard, the prime minister of that country, from declaring, without any evidence, that Assange’s actions were “illegal,” while placing her government at the service of the US witch-hunt.
Assange faces the immediate threat of arrest on the basis of trumped-up charges in Sweden. On Thursday, Swedish authorities obtained a new arrest warrant on alleged sexual misconduct charges—invariably, and falsely, described in the mass media as “rape.” The charges were initially considered so specious that the prosecutor ordered them dropped. This decision was reversed, however, and Sweden on Thursday submitted a warrant to Interpol. Police in Britain—where Assange is believed to be located—have pledged his arrest, which could happen as early as today.
There can be no doubt that the charges leveled against Assange in Sweden are only a convenient pretext to seek his detention.
Indeed, among the more revealing documents posted so far by WikiLeaks is one from the US ambassador to Sweden, who notes that Sweden’s close ties to the United States military “give the lie to the official policy” of non-participation in military alliances. In what has begun to emerge as a theme in the released cables from the US State Department, the ambassador warns that these ties should not be revealed because this would “open up the government to domestic criticism.”
The documents obtained by WikiLeaks—only a small fraction of which have been released so far—help expose what is a permanent conspiracy against the democratic rights of the world’s population: from covering up US bombings of civilians in Yemen, to working behind the scenes to obstruct the prosecution of CIA agents guilty of torture, to spying on UN officials in violation of international treaties.
Those who are leading the campaign against WikiLeaks are themselves responsible for horrific atrocities. In the face of allegations from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that WikiLeaks had placed lives in danger, Assange gave an appropriate response in an interview with Time magazine. WikiLeaks, he noted, “has never caused an individual … to come to any sort of physical harm or to be wrongly imprisoned and so on. That is a record compared to the organizations that we are trying to expose who have literally been involved in the deaths of hundreds or thousands or, potentially over the course of many years, millions.”
This criminality continues, now under the Obama administration. One document released by WikiLeaks that has been virtually ignored in the media is particularly revealing. In the spring of 2009, the Obama administration, in alliance with top figures in the Republican Party, intervened to pressure the Spanish government to derail an investigation into torture carried out by the Bush administration.
At one point, a representative of the US embassy, together with former chairman of the Republican Party Mel Martinez, met with the acting Spanish Foreign Minister to insist that “the prosecutions would not be understood or accepted in the US and would have an enormous impact” on US-Spanish relations. The prosecutions were quickly scuttled.
If the actions of WikiLeaks have helped reveal, in real time, the lies of the American government, they have also exposed the role of the chief propagators of these lies: the American media. For decades, the US government has cultivated the media to the point where it engages in self-censorship as a matter of course, where it does not even blush to declare itself “embedded” with this or that military unit or other state body.
The major newspapers regularly clear major articles with the White House and the Pentagon, delaying stories that could be politically harmful. Now, what is supposedly a central obligation of the media—to expose government secrets and provide information to the population—is treated by the media itself as if it were a criminal enterprise.
The mainstream media has long been concerned in particular about the potential of the Internet to allow people to access information unfiltered through official channels. There can be no doubt that the WikiLeaks revelations will provide further impetus to the campaign by the US government to assert greater control over online networks.
The WikiLeaks web site has already been the target of repeated denial of service attacks, of suspicious origin. In an attempt to get WikiLeaks back online, the organization rented servers from Amazon. On Wednesday, Amazon blocked WikiLeaks from using its servers, apparently under pressure from US officials and staff members of Democrat turned Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
The state persecution of Assange—enthusiastically backed by the mass media—is one expression of a far-reaching decay of democracy in the United States and internationally. World governments, led by the United States, are carrying out deeply unpopular policies—the multi-trillion dollar bailout of financial institutions, relentless demands for social austerity and the expanding war and global plunder.
The constant proclamations about the need for secrecy, which WikiLeaks has violated by publishing government documents, arises fundamentally from the irreconcilable conflict between the social interests that these governments represent and the needs and aspirations of the vast majority of the population.
The persecution of Assange in an effort to silence this exposure is not simply a threat to one individual. The methods employed against WikiLeaks will be used against all opposition to the policies of the corporate and financial aristocracy.
The World Socialist Web Site demands an immediate halt to the campaign against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. All the documents WikiLeaks has in its possession should be released for the world to see.
In the final analysis, the hysterical witch-hunt against Assange and WikiLeaks is not any sign of strength on the part of the American ruling elite and its state, but rather of fear and weakness. Intensely conscious of the crisis and instability of the political and economic system, they fear that revelations of state crimes will only fuel the inevitable eruption of mass working class opposition to their reactionary policies in the US and around the world. It is this emerging movement of social struggles on a global scale that must undertake an implacable defense of Assange, WikiLeaks and all those who seek to drag the crimes and conspiracies of imperialism into the light of day.

Joseph Kishore

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Help save the world. Please share this important call to action with people everywhere. For now the internet is useful in this effort. But the freedom of the net may not last much longer. Making and distributing hard copies may be a good idea. Act and be prepared. The “Brave New World” is upon us. General Joe

PS: I appeal directly to youth in the above effort. Like the founders and all the activists who are working tirelessly and selflessly to expose these terrible crimes against democracy and humanity, you no doubt possess media skills perfect for the effort. It's your world our "leaders" are destroying. Use those skills now.

The persecution of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange
Joseph Kishore
"Those who are leading the campaign against WikiLeaks are themselves responsible for horrific atrocities. In the face of allegations from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that WikiLeaks had placed lives in danger, Assange gave an appropriate response in an interview with Time magazine. WikiLeaks, he noted, “has never caused an individual … to come to any sort of physical harm or to be wrongly imprisoned and so on. That is a record compared to the organizations that we are trying to expose who have literally been involved in the deaths of hundreds or thousands or, potentially over the course of many years, millions.”

Since the publication of nearly 400,000 Iraq war logs last month, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been keeping a low profile
Frantic behind the scenes wrangling was under way last night as US officials tried to stem the fallout from the expected release of up to three million confidential diplomatic communiques by the Wikileaks website.
Over the past 48 hours, American ambassadors have had the unenviable task of informing some of the country's strongest allies that a series of potentially embarrassing cables are likely to be released in the coming days.
The latest tranche of documents, described by Wikileaks as being seven times as large as its last exposé – the 400,000 secret war logs from Iraq that were published last month – are thought to be cables taken from SIPRNet, the Pentagon's global secret-level computer network which is accessible online for those with clearance.

US officials say the publication of such reports, which often contain candid assessments from embassy staff and ambassadors about foreign governments and leaders, has the potential to harm relations between Washington and its allies.
Downing Street yesterday confirmed that the US ambassador in London had already briefed the Government on what might be contained in the files. Similar meetings were also reported in Turkey, Israel, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Australia.
Wikileaks has made no official confirmation other than through brief messages posted on its Twitter page claiming that the Pentagon was "hyperventilating again over fears of being held to account".
It is not clear whether the whistle-blowing website will black-out the names of people who might face persecution if they were known to be co-operating with American embassies abroad. A source at Wikileaks said that the website was "proceeding with caution, as always" with regard to the details it would put into the public domain, suggesting that some form of redaction would be used.
But US officials have nonetheless reacted angrily, arguing that any publication of the cables would make diplomacy in sensitive parts of the world much more difficult.
"WikiLeaks are an absolutely awful impediment to my business, which is to be able to have discussions in confidence with people," said James Jeffrey, US ambassador to Baghdad. "I do not understand the motivation for releasing these documents. They will not help, they will simply hurt our ability to do our work here."
Early indications suggest the communiqués – thought to be from the last five years – could be a major source of embarrassment both for Washington and its allies, shining a light on the kind of candid opinions and policies that governments like to keep secret.
Quoting a Wikileaks "administrator", the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat said some of the cables suggested that Turkey had been turning a blind eye to fighters from the group Al-Qa'ida in Iraq slipping across into Turkey from the south. According to the same report, separate cables also reveal that Washington has been allowing fighters from the Kurdish separatist group the PKK safe havens in northern Iraq to stage attacks on Turkey.
Sources familiar with the US State Department reports told Reuters that some of the missives are thought to contain allegations against politicians in Russia, Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations.
The Russian daily business newspaper Kommersant said that the cables will contain general assessments of the political situation in Russia and "unflattering characteristics" of Russian leaders.
Italy's Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, also admitted yesterday during a Cabinet meeting in Rome that the Wikileaks documents could have "negative repercussions" on the country's embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
That Wikileaks is in possession of the secret communications has been suspected by US officials ever since Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning was arrested six months ago on charges of leaking confidential information to the whistleblowing website.
In an online chat with former hacker Adrian Lamo, who eventually turned Manning in to the authorities, the Iraq-based analyst boasted how he had handed over a cache of secret foreign policy documents that revealed "almost-criminal political back dealings" by US officials.
In the online chat made available by Lamo, Manning added: "Hillary Clinton and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack when they wake up one morning, and find an entire repository of classified foreign policy is available, in searchable format, to the public."
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has always denied receiving any information from Manning, although the website has campaigned for his release from detention.
So where is Assange?
Since the publication of nearly 400,000 Iraq war logs last month, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been keeping a low profile.
The Australian-born campaigner leads a nomadic existence, rarely staying in the same place for more than a couple of nights, and frequently relying on friends and supporters for shelter.
On Thursday a court in Sweden upheld an arrest warrant on rape charges, although an appeal against the charge is continuing.
Assange, 39, has always strongly denied the charges against him. He says they are part of a smear campaign to discredit his whistleblowing organisation which has acheived worldwide fame this year following a string of leaks from the US military.
He is thought to be currently residing in Britain, although his UK lawyer Mark Stephens refused to say where his client was staying.
"I haven't confirmed where he is, but we have been in contact in the past 24 hours," Mr Stephens said.
Mr Assange's lawyer attacked the Swedish arrest warrant, adding that Mr Assange has already volunteered to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors either at an embassy or police station in Sweden. "The circumstances are all very bizarre," he said.

"Allies" may indeed become very hard for the US to find. Spread widely. General Joe

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The most recent release of classified information by wikileaks includes the incredible revelation that the US has been covertly attacking a fellow NATO state through the outlawed PKK. The PKK has been at war with the Turkish state since 1979. This is explosive information! From reading mainstream reports of this “diplomatic nightmare” it is clear that the US propaganda system is in full spin mode. Almost all the headlines I’m coming across now emphasize a supposed relationship between the Turkish state and “Al Qae da in Iraq,” and virtually ignore the US actions against it’s earstwhile ally. The reaction from Turkey may be telling. Watch and listen to the Turkish people rather than the officials though I don’t expect the leaders to be smiling either. Please share this news widely. General Joe

Report: WikiLeaks Docs to Show US Military Supporting PKK in Turkey’s Civil War
Military Praises PKK as 'Warriors for Freedom' Against NATO Ally
by Jason Ditz, November 25, 2010
Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum
Speculation is flying fast and furious over the details of the upcoming WikiLeaks release, fueled in no small part by US official warnings to a number of its allies about how hugely damaging the release could be.

The documents are said to be potentially damning to a large number of foreign governments, but perhaps the most damaging content could be related to the US military, which according to media reports will be shown to have secretly backed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in its ongoing civil war against Turkey.
The PKK has been officially listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department since 1979, which would be reason enough that the Defense Department cannot legally back them. It is doubly problematic in this case, however, as the PKK has been fighting Turkey, a NATO member and close military ally of the US.
The Pentagon is said to have praised the PKK as “warriors for freedom” in official documents and has ordered detained PKK captured inside Iraq released. They are also said to have provided the organization with weapons.

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Show the world the truth about US lies. Better, show the people who reside within the imperial beast for whom the fleecing is finally becoming visible. General Joe

PS: I think I read something in NATO doctrine that went “an attack on one member is an attack on all.”

The Chinese government is giving subsidies to a quarter million citizens to help with the 10 percent rise in the cost of food in the past month. China and Russia signed many economic and trade agreements. China filed its annual report on climate change. Then 4 stories concerning North Korea, beginning with Sunday and the centrifuge report, then the military attacks which the North says the South began, and then the plans for more provocative US/South Korea joint naval drills this weekend.

From GERMANY-

A European view of the skirmish on the Korean peninsula and speculation on the effect it will have. In Bucharest an exhibition showing the effect of garbage on the environment has been unveiled at a shopping mall.

From NETHERLANDS-

Ireland has announced tough austerity measures while discussing bailouts with the EU and IMF. Portugal ground to a halt on Wednesday in a nationwide strike against their austerity measures.

From CUBA-

Another day of protests in London over college fees. Wikileaks announced it will release more documents from Iraq, seven times bigger than the first. Secret talks in Afghanistan with Taliban collapsed when the main Taliban involved was revealed as a fake. NATO's top representative came under fire for claiming that Kabul was safer for children than London or New York. The Obama administration is pressuring Pakistan to allow for the wider use of drone attacks. Hugo Chavez signed the Anti-Imperialist Manifesto in Defense of Homeland.

From RUSSIA-

Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the US of instigating a number of attempted coups in Latin America. German Chancellor Merkel expressed her grave concern over the fate of the Euro. There are reports that the uranium enrichment program in Iran has been suspended. Serious actions are being taken to prevent tigers from becoming extinct in the wild.

All that plus times and frequencies for listening at home. It's free to rebroadcast, please notify me if you're airing it and haven't notified me in the last month, please mention the website if you only air a portion. If you just want to listen and have a slow connection, try the streaming version- lower sound quality but good enough and way easier if you don't have a high-speed internet connection. If streaming is a problem because of your slow connection, download the smaller file- it takes 20 minutes or less, and will play swell in any mp3 player application (RealPlayer, Winamp, Quicktime, iTunes, etc) you have on your computer.
This program will be aired on Friday evening at 6:30pm (PST) on KZYX/Z Philo CA, you might be able to stream via < http://www.kzyx.org >
There are several other streams that work better- < http://www.freakradio.org >Freak Radio Santa Cruz now streams this program on Friday at 9:00am.(PDST)
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Check out the amazing streams at < http://www.radicalradio.org >
And Radio For Peace International at < http://www.rfpi.org >

I hope you'll listen and air this if you're connected with a radio station. I am still wondering how to get financially compensated for the 25 hours I put into this program weekly- any ideas are appreciated. Any stations rebroadcasting this (or listeners) are welcome to donate for production costs. You can do so through the website. Many thanks to those that have donated! No Guilt! (maybe a little)
link for broadcast edition-
< http://www.outfarpress.com/outfarpress/swr_11_26_10.mp3 >(13.3MB)
link for smaller file and streaming-
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¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts

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Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.

Since 2008, both the Bush and Obama Administrations spent hundreds of billions - by some estimates, up to TRILLIONS - of dollars bailing our Wall Street investors, banks and industrial firms. Much was said about the need to provide a stimulus to the economy, with the public understanding that job creation would follow the infusion of cash into these sectors. But thus far, there has been little impact on unemployment, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel for the unemployed.

With the infusion of so much public money into these sectors came the possibility of structural change. The government was in the driver's seat, the public was heavily invested in finance and industry, and policy in those sectors - i.e., policy in such critical areas as transportation - could now be set by the people.

Butt that hasn't happened, as we all know. And this past week, the possibility of real change in the transportation sector faded into the background.

In 2009, President Obama began a takeover of GM that ended in the auto giant filing bankruptcy, its collapse the result of management's long-running failure to adapt to consumers' demand for reliable fuel-efficient cars. Upon taking ownership, government policy-makers had a tremendous - perhaps unprecedented - opportunity to set transportation policy for the 21st century and beyond. This past week's announcement of the sale of a majority stake in GM was essentially an announcement of a failure to take advantage of that opportunity.

The magnitude of this failure cannot be understated, and the reasons for it reveal a lot about this Administration and its priorities.

First, a comparison of the Administration's handling of the GM takeover with the operation of private firms in company takeovers is in order. One common corporate takeover model over the past decades has been the leveraged buy-out ("LBO"), where the buyer uses a very small sum of its own money, leverages it with borrowed funds and other debt, and attains control of the company. These buyers, despite their typically very small stake, are not shy about taking direct control of policy-making and operations at the targeted company from the start.

Here, the government infused some $50 Billion in the first three months alone, laid off workers, reduced pensions and other benefits in the process, and essentially set the company "back on its feet" to be reacquired by the same forces and with the same basic mission that led it to disaster in the first place.

Gordon Gekko couldn't have done a better job - for Wall Street investors. But American workers and taxpayers, as well as those concerned about the health of Planet Earth, didn't fare well at all.

Lost is the chance to turn GM - the company that killed the electric car - into a world-class innovator of non-fossil fuel transportation vehicles; lost also are the jobs that would have followed. And instead of following Michael Moore's suggestion "to build the future: bullet trains, light rail and electric buses," we will again watch a steady stream of gasoline-addicted automobiles issue forth, produced by fewer and fewer union workers.

Interestingly, on the same day that GM stock went back on the market, Japanese automaker Nissan introduced an all-electric vehicle to the US market place. If the prior success of the Toyota Prius is any measure, the Nissan Leaf will likely draw a huge response from American consumers - at the expense, of course, of US automakers and, more importantly, US auto workers.

During my 2008 Presidential campaign, I called for a government takeover of GM, but with the specific purpose of using it as a vehicle to redefine transportation. I specifically called for the development and manufacture of fossil fuel-free cars, trains and buses, which would put the US back in the forefront of the global transportation industry. Instead, President Obama said he hopes to put 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015, a laudable goal compared to the record of the last four administrations, but palpably insufficent as a response to the urgent crises facing our climate, our workers and our competitive industrial position in the world.

We bought and paid for the chance to change the world - and we paid top dollar for it. But instead, we received another shipping container full of more-of-the-same. What a waste...

Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) served six terms in the House of Representatives and was the Green Party candidate for President in 2008.